23 dead in more than 250 wildfires in Chile

At least 23 people have been killed in more than 250 wildfires in central Chile, where a sweltering heat wave is raging.

At least 23 people have been killed in more than 250 forest fires in central Chile, where a severe heat wave is raging, authorities said Saturday evening, with a new toll.

Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve said there were 23 dead and 979 injured in the fires.

The National Agency for Disaster Prevention and Response said Saturday that of the 251 active fires, 80 were out of control.

A previous toll indicated that there were 16 dead, including a Bolivian pilot and a Chilean mechanic, after a helicopter crash that was trying to put out the fires, according to the same source.

In an effort to address this situation, Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of disaster in the La Araucanía region after taking similar action in the Naupli and Biobio regions.

The president suspended his leave on Friday to go to the city of Concepcion (510 km south of the capital, Santiago), and told the afflicted via Twitter, "We will not leave you alone."

The declaration of a state of disaster provides additional resources to combat the emergency.

- 97 homes destroyed

Chilean Minister of Agriculture Esteban Valenzuela announced that he was "very saddened by the helicopter crash that killed the pilot and a mechanic who were working to fight a fire" in the Galvarino sector in the La Araucanía region.

Chile's public prosecutor's office said two people had been arrested in connection with the fires in the regions of Biobio and La Araucanía.

The authorities indicated that more than two hundred fires have so far destroyed more than forty thousand hectares and completely destroyed 97 homes.

More than 2,300 firefighters were mobilized to fight the fires, supported by 75 aircraft.

These fires broke out in the midst of a severe heat wave, with temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius, which raises the authorities' fears of a disaster similar to the one that occurred in 2017.

That year, a massive bushfire killed 11 people, destroyed more than 1,500 homes and damaged 467,000 hectares of land.

Similar to what happened during the previous disaster, the fires started in agricultural areas and forests before spreading and threatening residential areas.

Traffic on one of the main roads leading to the city of Concepción has been limited since Thursday due to the proximity of the fire.

In the city of Santa Juana, 52 km south of Concepción, a resident told Radio Cooperativa that the fire had begun to threaten homes, adding, "I ask God for mercy. That's it. What happens is in God's hands."

The worst in American history Winds with a temperature of 80 degrees below zero hit the summit of Mount Washington

The "Mount Washington" region of the US state of New Hampshire is witnessing a decrease in the level of cold temperatures, which reached minus 80 degrees, while the wind speed reached approximately 205 kilometers per hour, amid a severe cold wave hitting North America.

Mount Washington, New Hampshire, is experiencing a drop in the level of cold temperatures and has established its reputation as one of the worst in the world in terms of wind chill and frost.

The wind chill temperature was around minus 80 degrees Celsius on Saturday morning, US time.

A video clip showed the harshness of the weather, as the wind speed reached approximately 205 kilometers per hour.

Mount Washington is located in the White Mountains in northern New Hampshire, and it is the highest peak in the northeastern United States, with a height of 1917 meters.

By early Friday evening, the summit had a wind chill, reaching minus 103 degrees Fahrenheit.

Nearly 100 million people in Canada and the United States are bracing for extreme cold winds, as North America faces a severe cold snap.

The National Weather Service warned that the extreme cold could bring "once-in-a-generation" severe winds that cause frostbite in as little as 10 minutes.

At least 11 people have died due to bad weather in the southern United States since Monday.

The drop in temperatures is attributed to a strong polar wave that extends from the Canadian maritime provinces to the heart of the United States.